Mated To The Crippled Alpha

I couldn’t bring myself to ask the doctor anything. I grabbed a tissue, wiped the gel from my stomach, pulled my shirt down, and walked out.

Theo was waiting in the hallway, his face heavy with something he didn’t want to say. "Ma’am... Ms. Morrigan. She’s gone."

I stopped. "You mean she ran away?"

He stiffened under my stare. Theo had never been good at lying not because he lacked the nerve, but because his body always gave him away. I walked toward him slowly, keeping my eyes locked on his. "Look down," I said, my voice flat and cold.

He lowered his head. I slapped him across the face.

"Don’t think you can fool me, Theo."

"Sorry, ma’am," he mumbled, eyes still cast down.

I’d never once raised a hand to Lewis. But Theo had lied to my face, and that wasn’t something I could let slide. Besides, if Lewis hadn’t been behind this, Whitney never would’ve gotten out that easily. They had all moved against me, quietly, behind my back.

"Elena." Lewis’s voice came from somewhere behind me.

I didn’t acknowledge him. I turned around and walked back into the ultrasound room, pulling the door shut hard enough to make my point. It was too late to go after Whitney Lewis had clearly seen to that already.

The doctor straightened her glasses and held out a printed report. "Mrs. Hale, here are your results."

"Thank you." I took the paper, and when I read the words printed there, my heart stopped completely.

Intrauterine early pregnancy. Twins.

Twins. I was carrying two.

"Doctor " my voice cracked before I could control it. "Are you telling me I’m having twins?" Without even realizing what I was doing, I grabbed her hand, tears already falling.

"Yes, Mrs. Hale. And both babies are healthy. Their heartbeats and development are completely normal. If you and Mr. Hale would like to come back in a few weeks, we can determine their genders."

The gender didn’t matter. Two healthy heartbeats. That was everything.

More than everything.

The tears came faster than I could stop them. The doctor led me gently to a chair. "Mrs. Hale, please try to stay calm. Your emotions affect the pregnancy." She pressed a tissue into my hands.

The door opened. Lewis stepped in, took one look at me tears running, the doctor hovering and crossed the room immediately. He put his arm around my shoulders without a word. "Don’t cry. Whatever it is, we’ll handle it together."

I looked up at him through blurred vision. "Carl the babies "

The concern in his eyes sharpened. "What happened? Are they okay?"

"It’s... twins," I managed. "We’re having twins."

His eyes dropped to the report still in my hands. He took it from me slowly, and for a moment his whole carefully composed face cracked open just for a second shock spreading across features that almost never showed it.

"We’re having two?"

I nodded, tears still falling freely, and reached for him without thinking. "Yes. Two."

"Elena," he whispered. "You’re incredible."

"No you are," I said, and I meant it completely.

I noticed the doctor still standing there, her gaze moving quietly between us like she hadn’t expected any of this. Then I remembered what Lewis had done, what he’d allowed, and I pulled back from him.

The doctor cleared her throat. "Ahem Mr. and Mrs. Hale, please don’t mind me." She turned her head politely.

Lewis composed himself. "How are the babies?"

"Both perfectly healthy, Mr. Hale."

"And my wife?"

"All her indicators look excellent. She’s in great shape."

"Thank you," he said, steady as ever.

I tried to pull my hand away from his, but his grip held firm. He didn’t let go, not even when I wanted him to.

Once we were in the car and the door clicked shut, Lewis lifted my hand and pressed it gently against his face. "If you’re angry, hit me. Don’t hold it in it’ll only hurt you."

I hit his chest. Not hard, but I meant it. "Lewis, you jerk. You knew Whitney was all the family I had left. You knew that, and you let her walk into that risk anyway. What if something happens to her? What if something happens to the babies? They won’t even have an aunt "

He pulled me into his arms, his voice low and careful. "I’m sorry, Elena. I couldn’t stop her. Tell me honestly if I were the one in danger, would you have stayed behind?"

I didn’t answer. We both already knew I wouldn’t.

"She’s not the same as you," he said quietly. "She knows how that organization moves. She understands their structure, their people. Luther has real feelings for her and a pretty face will open doors that nothing else can. Holding her back would’ve only pushed her to find another way out."

I looked at him. "You’re helping her. Don’t tell me there’s no personal reason behind it."

He didn’t deny it. "There is. You’re carrying our children, and that organization might still come for you. If Whitney can get us information from the inside, it makes you safer. This isn’t just for Vito. It’s for you."

I already knew that. Lewis, under all his calm, was driven by one thing me. He didn’t sacrifice people. He didn’t force anyone’s hand. He let Whitney go because it served the one person who mattered most to him. That was just who he was.

He reached into his jacket and held out an envelope. "Whitney left this for you."

I opened it. Her handwriting was strong and deliberate not delicate, not hesitant. It looked like her.

"I’m sorry I lied, Elena. I couldn’t walk away from him. After all this time, I know him too well. He’s using himself as bait. He never planned to escape he’s going to die on that ship.

I used to think I wanted to see him gone. But after all the pain, after all the years apart, I can’t let go. I can’t forget him.

Mom, Dad, and our brother are settled now. You’re having a baby, and I’m genuinely happy for you. I tried to want a quiet life to settle down, grow old, be normal. But that’s not who I am.

Maybe I fell in love with him a long time ago.

Even if we can’t be together, I won’t stand by and watch him die senselessly out on that water.

Don’t break your heart over me, Elena. And don’t be angry at Lewis this was my choice, not his.

I’ll take care of myself. I’ll try to survive. But if anything happens, don’t hold onto the memory of the selfish sister I was.

You deserve happiness, Elena."